This disclosure relates to a core housing and gearbox configuration for gas turbine engines.
Gas turbine engines for commercial aircraft applications typically include an engine core housed within a core nacelle. In one type of arrangement known as a turbofan engine, the core drives an upstream fan that provides airflow into the core. A fan case and nacelle surround the fan and at least a portion of the core. A compressor section within the core compresses the air from the fan and delivers it downstream into a combustion section. One type of compressor section includes low and high pressure compressors, each with one or more stages. The compressed air is mixed with fuel and combusted in the combustion section. The products of this combustion are then delivered downstream over turbine rotors, which are rotationally driven to provide power to the engine.
The core housing is typically constructed from multiple cases that support various portions of the core. The inlet case is arranged at the front of the core to receive airflow from the fan. Some gas turbine engines include a gearbox arranged at the front of the core between a spool and the fan. The spool supports one or more turbine stages that rotational drive the fan through the gearbox. One problem with geared fan engines is the lack of modularity at the front of the core. For example, when the gearbox needs to be removed from the engine. For example, to service the compressor section, it must be disassembled in order to remove it. In particular, in one type of arrangement, a gearbox bearing compartment seal is positioned such that it prevents the gearbox from being removed as a unit or module, which is time consuming and costly. Further, the gearbox cannot be removed along with the low pressure compressor inlet case. What is needed is a gas turbine engine front architecture configured to permit the gearbox and the inlet case to be removed as a single unit or module without disassembling the gearbox.